Google has offered word definition via the define:word search query for quite some time now, so the dictionary, quietly rolled out at google.com/dictionary, is simply an extension of this service.
The dictionary, is very simple, and ties into the search engine’s translation service, as it includes word definitions for 28 languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic, Croatian and others. Type in a word, and you’ll get the definition(s), related phrases, as well as aggregated definitions from other Web services such as Wikipedia.
Other similar services such as Dictionary.com or Answers.com surpass Google’s dictionary when it comes to features, offering a thesaurus, synonyms, and definitions from specialized sources such as medical and scientific dictionaries. But Google’s foray into this arena is still bad news for the other services: Google’s aggregation feature makes its service a good starting point, even if it’s not the best dictionary out there.
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